• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

This will be an interesting thread moving forward......

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,257
Location
Canada
They used to have spark plug air compressor adapters and Miller even had exclusive Deutz engines with 1 cylinder used for an air compressor on their early air paks. Problem was the air compressor cylinder would wear out prematurely to the rest of the cylinders because it didn't have the lubrication from the diesel fuel.
 

terex herder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
1,779
Location
Kansas
When i was a kid the only portable air we had was one of those spark-plug hole adapters and a hose to fill up tires. The old 235 in the ‘59 chev pumped up many tires in its lifetime

I've seen them also, and always wondered how many air mattresses and tires were filled with a perfect air:fuel mix for an explosion? Did it ever matter?
 

joelx777

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2022
Messages
163
Location
Washington State
I use a shop vac. Duct tape the hose to the reservoir neck. Poke holes thru the duct tape with a pocket knife to lessen the vacuum. Variable speed shop vac is the best. Pulled many a suction screen out of a farm tractor tranny without losing any oil. Works good if you want to check the magnetic drain plug without draining the oil.
@Questionable wizard
I am thinking about trying this as I have to pull off a huge hose running under the hydraulic tank down to the excavators tracks and don't want to dump out all of my oil. Any suggestions about how many holes / how it should look or anything? I'm a newbie.
 

JD955SC

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
1,349
Location
The South
@Questionable wizard
I am thinking about trying this as I have to pull off a huge hose running under the hydraulic tank down to the excavators tracks and don't want to dump out all of my oil. Any suggestions about how many holes / how it should look or anything? I'm a newbie.

I don’t have any shop vac tips but with a transducer applying vacuum I can tell you to use care. I’ve never had the luck others in this thread have had on large hoses and I’ve seen coworkers take baths trying to do large hose changes at the tank.
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I've seen them also, and always wondered how many air mattresses and tires were filled with a perfect air:fuel mix for an explosion? Did it ever matter?

The ones I have seen had an inlet check valve on the spark plug adapter, so there would have been extra air. Still I always wonder too, did the gasoline attack rubber inside tires, etc.?
 

jhexjd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2021
Messages
77
Location
alberta canada
Why would anyone rebuild a cylinder without OEM seals? Saving $20 is not worth it in a part like that. IIRC I paid about $50 for each cylinder when I did 2 on my CTL, and that was at John Deere. The part that baffled me was shops were telling me $1000 each to rebuild, I said screw it and tore them apart, first one took me probably 4-5 hours as i've never touched one before, the second about 2 hours and haven't had a drifting problem since. I was pissed after the fact though, how could a shop justify charging $1900 in labour for maybe 2-3 hours work? The price was based off of only doing seals, any machining, etc would be more, I get you're paying for their experience but that's just gouging.
just out of curiousity how do you torque the nut on the really big ones like for a 270dlc
 

1466IH

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Messages
613
Location
prairie du rocher, il
just out of curiousity how do you torque the nut on the really big ones like for a 270dlc
A hydraulic cylinder bench. There are several different sizes and styles. The one I have is very simple but they are like anything else and you can get them as fancy or as plain as you like or afford. I have never had mine maxed out but have been up to 35,000lb/ft and it is definitely an eerie feeling watching the gauge come up as things start popping and creaking.
 

colson04

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
2,057
Location
Delton, Michigan
A hydraulic cylinder bench. There are several different sizes and styles. The one I have is very simple but they are like anything else and you can get them as fancy or as plain as you like or afford. I have never had mine maxed out but have been up to 35,000lb/ft and it is definitely an eerie feeling watching the gauge come up as things start popping and creaking.

Lol. We made up 8" drill collars to 56,000 lb-ft. That is very eerie watching 4 ft steel tongs that weigh several hundred pounds flex and bend as the line pull gets up to 14,000 pounds. The worst part, is it might take 60,000 lb-ft or more to break them out when done drilling. Clear the floor in case something breaks.
 

JD955SC

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
1,349
Location
The South
A hydraulic cylinder bench. There are several different sizes and styles. The one I have is very simple but they are like anything else and you can get them as fancy or as plain as you like or afford. I have never had mine maxed out but have been up to 35,000lb/ft and it is definitely an eerie feeling watching the gauge come up as things start popping and creaking.

those high torque pops tell me to get behind something solid like a another machine and let what may break fly

we have a nice big chip in the armor glass of the service office from a puller rod deciding to pop the thread nut.

just out of curiousity how do you torque the nut on the really big ones like for a 270dlc

The right way is to use something like a hydraulic cylinder bench the not quite right way but still may work is a very stout vise and holding fixture and another machine. I have access to and prefer the first, and have seen the consequences if you don’t get it tight enough.

some of our customers will pull the rod and gland assembly and have us break the nut loose and they will repack it on the back of their service truck or pickup and we will retorque it for them.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
28,979
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
The right way is to use something like a hydraulic cylinder bench the not quite right way but still may work is a very stout vise and holding fixture and another machine.
You mean something like this..? The "stout vise" in this case was a 980H IIRC and the "other machine" was the bucket of a 336.

upload_2022-8-22_11-3-19.png
 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,129
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Wish I had taken a picture or two of the way we did it.

We had a workbench in the welder's area of the shop with something around a five by six foot top made out of 2 inch thick steel plate. To hold a ram I cut a hole in the plate over to one side just big enough for the pull rod for our 30 OTC hydraulic ram. Position the eye of the ram on a spacer and then put the pull rod through the eye with nuts and plates on either side and hook up hydraulic pump to the ram and clamp it with 30 tons of pressure.

We also had a 16X1 torque multiplier to turn the nut using a torque wrench. Also put a wood block under rod near the piston and used a heavy duty ratchet strap to hold it down to prevent flexing of ram.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
28,979
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
The rod was a bent one from an old damaged cylinder so we used it to prove that the tooling worked. If something failed during the process we weren't going to lose by it.
Actually it worked out very well. The wrench moved down a few inches under the pressure of the excavator bucket and then simply fell to the ground under its own weight. It was made from 1-1/2" plate if my memory serves me right.
 
Top